BioTrek's goal is to cultivate science savvy: To transform how people view and do science, and to enable people to use science better in making personal choices, in forming public policies, and in making decisions in the face of uncertainty.

BioTrek's approach has a strong focus on the nature of science and on epistemology, the branch of philosophy that asks "what is knowable and what is not knowable?" BioTrek encourages learners of all ages to consider "What is science? How is science different from other ways of knowing?"

BioTrek's outreach work is in keeping with a commitment expressed by UW President Charles Van Hise in his speech on February 15, 1905 to members of the Legislature and the Wisconsin Press Association. He ended with a passage that included, "I shall never be content until the beneficient influence of the university reaches every family of the state."